The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

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Recent Editions

Garry Tan, CEO of YC. Photo by Getty.

Here Comes the Startup Panic

By Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 11, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Tech startups and investors have had a tumultuous few months. There was the crypto meltdown, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and, before that, the overall economic fallout from the weak economy and hammering of tech stocks. And as the dust has settled, there’s a new vibe in the air: concern—even a little desperation. Tech startups and investors have had a tumultuous few months. There was the crypto meltdown, the...

ThredUp CEO James Reinhart. Photo by Bloomberg.

What ThredUp’s Exec Comp Says About Founder Incentives

By Martin Peers · Apr 10, 2023 5:03pm PDT

Here’s a question: What incentives does a CEO need to stick around to work hard to advance the company’s priorities? If they’re a founder with a decent equity stake, the answer should be none. The opportunity to lift the value of their existing shares should be incentive enough. That’s apparently the view of big tech firms like Meta Platforms,... Here’s a question: What incentives does a CEO need to stick around to work hard to advance the...

Photo by Getty

What OpenAI Is Doing That Google Isn’t

By Martin Peers · Apr 6, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Sibling rivalry. It’s a real thing, as any parent with more than one child knows, and it can either motivate a kid to work harder or alienate them. No, you haven’t accidentally opened a newsletter about parenting. Sibling rivalry turns out to be a big problem in tech. It prevented the two AI labs within Google’s parent Alphabet from working... Sibling rivalry. It’s a real thing, as any parent with more than one child knows, and it can...

Photo by Shutterstock

Arming the Enemy? Why U.S. VCs Investing in China AI Is Complicated

By Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 5, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Photo by Shutterstock

Arming the Enemy? Why U.S. VCs Investing in China AI Is Complicated

By Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 5, 2023 5:00pm PDT

It’s become a major refrain among several U.S. tech leaders that the U.S. can’t let China win in artificial intelligence. And so it is pretty interesting that leading venture firms funded by U.S. endowments and other institutional investors are putting money into the most promising young AI startups in China. In an important piece in The... It’s become a major refrain among several U.S. tech leaders that the U.S. can’t let China win in...

An Amazon warehouse in Rialto, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Website Snafu Undercuts Its Image as a Well-Oiled Machine

By Martin Peers · Apr 4, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Who says there are no laughs in tech business news? Our scoop today that Amazon, the premier online retail website, was marking products made by big companies and foreign sellers with a label meant to denote small U.S. businesses has a comedic side (make sure you check out the anecdote about Chomps jerky). But there’s a serious angle here. Over... Who says there are no laughs in tech business news? Our scoop today that Amazon, the premier...

Photo by Getty.

Wall Street Greets WWE-UFC Deal With a Smackdown

By Martin Peers · Apr 3, 2023 5:00pm PDT

There’s no AI (and perhaps not too much human intelligence) involved in either World Wrestling Entertainment or Endeavor’s Ultimate Fighting Championship. But for sheer spectacle, today’s proposed merger of the two companies beats anything going on right now in tech—and we’re not talking just about what’s on the screen. Vince McMahon’s maneuvers... There’s no AI (and perhaps not too much human intelligence) involved in either World Wrestling...

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, Inc. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google, OpenAI and the Coming Copyright Storm

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 30, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

So here is a question: If you develop some software and train it on random material from the internet to make it smarter, do the creators of that material have any right to the software?What happens if you are Google and you train your software with public conversations generated from a chatbot made by OpenAI, one of your main competitors, which... So here is a question: If you develop some software and train it on random material from the...

Mark Bertolini, Oscar Health's new CEO. Photo by Bloomberg.

Oscar Health’s New CEO Has a Tough Job—but Lyft’s New CEO Has It Worse

By Martin Peers · Mar 29, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Mark Bertolini, Oscar Health's new CEO. Photo by Bloomberg.

Oscar Health’s New CEO Has a Tough Job—but Lyft’s New CEO Has It Worse

By Martin Peers · Mar 29, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Mark Bertolini must be feeling pretty good. Since he was named the new CEO of Oscar Health on Tuesday, Oscar’s long-suffering stock has bounced 78%. OK, skeptics will point out that bounce was off a very low base—the stock was at $3.59 on Monday. And even after the rally, Oscar stock is still down 84% from its initial public offering price. But... Mark Bertolini must be feeling pretty good. Since he was named the new CEO of Oscar Health on...

Photo by Bloomberg

Forget the IPO Window. Watch for More M&A

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 28, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Here’s some food for thought about initial public offerings. Yesterday I asked Brex co-CEO Henrique Dubugras when he thought the IPO window would open. His fintech company, after all, is one of many that could be beating down that door. Having raised $1.5 billion in funding, Dubugras said the company has a plan to break even off its existing... Here’s some food for thought about initial public offerings. Yesterday I asked Brex co-CEO...

Why the CFTC’s Binance lawsuit is good news for Coinbase. Plus, Musk’s backers need to believe.

Why the CFTC’s Binance Lawsuit Is Good News for Coinbase

By Martin Peers · Mar 27, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Privately held crypto exchanges are setting new lows in corporate governance. If you thought the initial bankruptcy filing for Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX was stunning in what it revealed about how that company was run, check out the Commodity Futures Trading Commissions lawsuit against Binance today. Here’s a business empire controlled by one... Privately held crypto exchanges are setting new lows in corporate governance. If you thought the...

Jack Dorsey, head, chairman and cofounder of Block. Photo by Bloomberg.

Let’s Talk About Jack Dorsey

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 23, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Well, it’s been a minute since Jack Dorsey has been in the news. But lest you think that Elon Musk—and Congress’s favorite punching bag, TikTok—get all the fun, today short seller Hindenburg Research sent Block’s stock down 15% with a report saying the payments company, formerly known as Square, had been inflating its user metrics by serving... Well, it’s been a minute since Jack Dorsey has been in the news. But lest you think that Elon...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Photo by Bloomberg.

U.S. Tech Should Support TikTok at This Moment

By Martin Peers · Mar 22, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 15 comments

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Photo by Bloomberg.

U.S. Tech Should Support TikTok at This Moment

By Martin Peers · Mar 22, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 15 comments

If Steve Martin were to remake his 1984 film “Lonely Guy” this year, he could center it around Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok. It’s a paradox that the executive leading one of the most popular apps in the U.S. is basically on his own as he fights the threat of a ban from both the Biden administration and congressional opponents. The few people who... If Steve Martin were to remake his 1984 film “Lonely Guy” this year, he could center it around...

Larry Summers, former U.S. Treasury secretary, at a conference in 2019.

Larry Summers Has a Message for Silicon Valley

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 21, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Larry Summers has a message to all of us here in Silicon Valley: It’s time to switch up that reading list. “Perhaps pay a little more attention to history relative to science fiction in terms of understanding all the things that the future may hold,” he said during a conversation with me and The Information subscribers Tuesday. Larry Summers has a message to all of us here in Silicon Valley: It’s time to switch up that...

Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon. Photo via Getty.

Amazon Takes Its Time Delivering Second Round of Job Cuts

By Martin Peers · Mar 20, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Amazon is in the lead! The e-commerce behemoth has moved ahead of Alphabet in the contest to win this year’s IBM Cup, awarded occasionally to the most bureaucratic and slow-moving big tech company around. That’s one takeaway from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s explanation today for cutting another 9,000 jobs, on top of the 18,000 layoffs already... Amazon is in the lead! The e-commerce behemoth has moved ahead of Alphabet in the contest to win...

Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft, speaks during an interview in Redmond, Washington, on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. Photo by Bloomberg.

Tech Rivalries Are Getting Feisty Again

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 16, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

The year was 2008 or so and Silicon Valley was in full swing. As an internet reporter—this is back when most of the internet companies were under one beat—it was my job to cover announcements out of Google, Yahoo, Facebook and the other rising tech giants. And I was pretty busy. Facebook was expanding to new geographies, and Google responded to... The year was 2008 or so and Silicon Valley was in full swing. As an internet reporter—this is...

The TikTok offices in Culver City, Calif. Photo by Getty.

TikTok Ban Threat Is Déjà Vu Moment

By Martin Peers · Mar 15, 2023 5:33pm PDT · 1 comment

The TikTok offices in Culver City, Calif. Photo by Getty.

TikTok Ban Threat Is Déjà Vu Moment

By Martin Peers · Mar 15, 2023 5:33pm PDT · 1 comment

What a bunch of Keystone cops. That’s the only way to think about the national security folks behind the latest U.S. threat to ban TikTok. As The Information reported just now, following an earlier report from The Wall Street Journal, the Biden administration is demanding that Chinese tech giant ByteDance sell TikTok—or else face a ban. That’s... What a bunch of Keystone cops. That’s the only way to think about the national security folks...

Signage outside of the Meta Store in Burlingame, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg.

Making Sense of Mark Zuckerberg’s Manifesto

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 14, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 5 comments

As if the technology industry hadn’t spit out enough news lately, today brought another big batch of headlines. Once again techies are closely tracking the arrival of OpenAI’s latest conversational artificial intelligence model, dubbed GPT-4. And then there are the sweeping layoffs at Meta Platforms. News of the layoffs, expected to total a... As if the technology industry hadn’t spit out enough news lately, today brought another big batch...

A Wellesley, Mass., police officer glances at his watch as customers and bystanders form a line outside a Silicon Valley Bank branch location, Monday, March 13, 2023, while waiting for the branch to open, in Wellesley, Mass. Photo by AP.

There’s No Perfect Place for Silicon Valley to Park its Cash

By Martin Peers · Mar 13, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Finally, there’s an advantage to being broke—you never have to worry about where to put your cash! The failure of three banks in the past few days, and today’s sell-off in the stocks of First Republic and other banks, has put the spotlight on the inherent risk in bank accounts. Of course, putting your money into bonds or stocks is much riskier... Finally, there’s an advantage to being broke—you never have to worry about where to put your...

Photo by Shutterstock

Why the Worst-Case Scenarios of SVB Fallout Are Unlikely

By Martin Peers · Mar 12, 2023 3:15pm PDT

What a weekend! The term “everything everywhere all at once” seems a better description for the turmoil sparked by Friday’s failure of Silicon Valley Bank than for an incomprehensible movie that’s up for an Oscar tonight. The good news is that the worst-case scenarios some on Twitter were broadcasting the past few days seem increasingly... What a weekend! The term “everything everywhere all at once” seems a better description for the...

Greg Becker, chief executive officer of Silicon Valley Bank. Photo by Bloomberg.

Silicon Valley Bank’s Spiral

By Martin Peers · Mar 9, 2023 5:00pm PST

Greg Becker, chief executive officer of Silicon Valley Bank. Photo by Bloomberg.

Silicon Valley Bank’s Spiral

By Martin Peers · Mar 9, 2023 5:00pm PST

What a panic. You might have thought a new coronavirus had surfaced in Silicon Valley Bank’s Santa Clara, Calif., headquarters, as SVB investors (and, apparently, depositors) rushed for the exits. SVB’s shares fell 60% in regular trading and another 21% after hours. This doesn’t seem likely to end well. My best guess is that SVB will get... What a panic. You might have thought a new coronavirus had surfaced in Silicon Valley Bank’s...